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U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end attacks on the Gaza Strip "immediately" during a phone conversation, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel's Channel 12 television reported that Trump requested Netanyahu halt Gaza attacks during their phone call yesterday. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu to "finish this" regarding the Gaza offensive.
The U.S. president stated that ending the war would help with negotiations involving Iran and Saudi Arabia, according to the report. Trump also warned Netanyahu about attacking Iran, telling the Israeli prime minister to remove the Iran attack option from his agenda.
The report noted that Trump did not give clear approval for a "military attack" option if negotiations fail.
Netanyahu announced in a video message that progress had been made in Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement negotiations.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated that the phone meeting addressed progress made in negotiations. The meeting included Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and some members of the negotiating team.
Israeli state television KAN reported, citing a source involved in the talks, that Qatar is making the main effort to reach an agreement in negotiations. The report stated that mediators are working to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding guarantees for achieving a permanent cease-fire. If the U.S. accepts Qatar's proposal, Israel could also agree to it.
U.N. Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq reported that Israel denied 11 of 18 attempts to bring aid to Gaza.
Haq shared developments in the Middle East during the daily press briefing. He stated that the Israeli army, which continues attacks on Gaza, "approved only 7 of 18 applications" from U.N. officials seeking to bring aid to the hunger-stricken Gaza population.
"We currently believe that conditions at distribution points not managed by the UN are unsafe, and you have seen for yourself how unsafe this is," Haq said, pointing to problems in Israel's organized aid distribution mechanism.
"The basic point of humanitarian aid distribution is that people in need can safely access the aid they need, which is not happening under these conditions," he added.
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